Bleach: Twist
by poisonivy9675
Summary: We all know how Ichigo was thrust into the shinigami world. By having a sword plunged through his chest he became a substitute shinigami. Except that's not all that happened. Something else was tripped up inside Ichigo's body. Thing is, in that same moment he became a substitute Soul Reaper, he also became a girl. Yeah, Soul Society and everyone else better watch out. (Fem!Ichigo)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**_**The characters and everything from Bleach isn't mine and all credits should go to Tite Kubo. The only thing I own is the plot, though the story will follow the anime. Don't worry, things start changing up when the actual change happens.**_

_**i**_** means crimsonteresa. I just kept her disclaimer. And ending author notes.**

* * *

**Saving Gone Wrong**

Being Ichigo Kurosaki can be terribly boring. Maybe not in the beginning, when one would freak out about seeing a bunch of spirits and the like, but it gets old. As I am that person, I can tell you with full assurance. It actually gets annoying sometimes.

This day was just a little different, and it was regular old humans that were getting on my nerves.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing?" I asked irritatedly.

A group of thugs stood in front of me, one in front of the others like a leader. They all had skateboards, either in hand or underfoot, and disgruntled faces.

"More like what do _you_ think you're doing, hmm?" one growled out, lip curled back in a sneer. His dark shaggy hair was pulled back by a headband, and his clothes were girly (more like uni-sex, but whatever) so I decided to dub him Girl.

Directly to Girl's left was a man with a punk attitude. He totally fit the image, cracking his knuckles, veins throbbing and all. It was quickly decided he was Punk. To his left was a kid that had tried way too hard to fit in as a thug. His head was shaved, he had several piercings, his hood was up, his pants were sagging; this kid deserved the name Thug. Finally, the leader in front had an orange bandanna holding up scraggly brown hair and a strange mustache with a severe twitching problem. It took me a second to come up with something for him, but I am the master of nicknames. He was called Stachio. (**A/N: No idea if that's how it would be spelled, but oh well...**)

"Who do you think you are?" Stachio bit out rather rudely.

My eyes squinting was the only warning he received before he got a face full of foot. (Mind you, I had less warning then that as, though I am flexible, I was standing right in front of him)

"Why, you..!" Thug burst out, but I held up a hand to stop him, and, weird enough, he complied.

"What is that?" I questioned in a low, dangerous voice. I pointed over to a fallen vase of flowers by a telephone pole. Girl, Punk, and Thug stood a bit straighter with confused expressions. Seeing that none were going to answer, I picked on Punk. "You, in the middle!"

Like the dutiful punk he was, he phrased the answer as a question. "Uh, the flowers set out for the kid that died?"

"Bravo," I grunted as I punched him down. Girl and Thug gasped. "You," I pointed to Girl, "Why are they positioned that way?"

"We knocked 'em over while we was skateboarding," he said with narrowed eyes.

"Correct!" I shouted as he was knocked down as well.

"I oughtta..!" Thug brought his fist back but my murderous glare was quite enough to silence him after having brought down the rest of the group.

I squeezed their heads, one by one, 'till their eyes started tearing up. "You better never do it again or I'll make sure it's you needing the flowers in honor of," I growled darkly.

They ran, splitting up, and I just then noticed that Stachio had disappeared from his space on the concrete ground.

"Durn," I murmured softly before turned to where the vase sat on its side. "Well, they should be scared enough to not bother you again."

A girl shimmered into existence, leaning on the pole and peeking after the group that had run away. "Thank you," she smiled up at me with relief. Her hair was tied up, and colored a red that could rival my own orange. Her eyes were green, a shade darker than the green font on her white tee. I guessed that her outfit was what she had worn when she died, but I brushed that thought aside.

I leaned over to put that vase of flowers upright again and she whispered, "I can go in peace now."

With a smile, I stood and answered, "Have fun."

She nodded, then faded away, although I still sensed her presence. My ability to see spirits is basically that, I guess. A sense.

As far as I know, I've been able to sense spirits from the beginning, the power has just...developed, I suppose. Now I can see, communicate with, and touch them. Additionally, they're drawn to me now, which is why it's getting annoying.

I walked home with my school bag in my hand over my shoulder. My other hand was in my grey uniform pocket. The walk took five-or-so minutes, but knowing what awaited me it seemed much too short. A glance beforehand at my watch told me it was 7:03, and that meant my dad was going to pitch a fit. You'd think that someone running a clinic would be a bit more gentle, but I don't think anyone in my family could be classified as gentle.

I opened the door reluctantly, half considering climbing in through my bedroom window, and was promptly greeted with a blow to the face I barely managed to block.

"The one tradition we have in this house is to eat together at 7:00!" my dad's gruff voice shouted out. "You're late!"

I advanced a little as we threw punches and kicked the door shut behind me. "I was helping a spirit pass on," I yelled, "I should be excused!"

Yuzu and Karin, my little sisters, sat at the table eating dinner, pretty much disregarding the fight since it was a daily thing. Yuzu did look over with her soft brown eyes and ask us to stop and come eat, but Karin just told her flat out it was a useless endeavor. Yep, that's my average night.

Eventually I overcame my dad and went upstairs with an "I'm going to bed" while he wept over his rebellious children. (Note the sarcasm)

Not even bothering to change I just laid down on my bed with the wind blowing my curtains and the moon reflecting on the glass of my window. I went to sleep like that, shoes on and everything.

**[~_•_~]**

I woke up with stiff clothes but figured that since I was already dressed, I might as well stay dressed. Downstairs Yuzu, the cook of the family, was making breakfast for everyone. Karin was watching the news while she waited.

"Dad's attending a meeting," Karin mentioned, black eyes still trained to the small TV screen.

"Alright," I said in acknowledgement, then I moved over to help Yuzu with the food.

When I was situated on a chair with a bowl of warm oatmeal I finally looked to see what was on the news. It showed a wrecked building, and the reporter at the scene talked about witnesses and the like.

"Hey, that's near here," I said with a hint of worry for my family. Indeed, the site was somewhere I walked by daily on my way to school.

After I finished eating I kissed both my sisters on the cheek, received and gave a "Have a good day," and walked out the door with my school bag.

It was when I passed a building with a bunch of fuss, and police tape, that I first felt the very strong and evil presence. A second later I heard an inhuman howl that chilled my bones, and I had to run against a tide of people going the opposite direction to reach it. I had no idea what a monster like that could be classified as, only that it was a spirit of some sort. It had a white mask-like face and head, and a centipede sort of body. In front of it was the girl I had helped out the other day; it seemed to be chasing her.

"Oi," I called out to her, helping her along as soon as I reached her.

"Help me," she cried fearfully, with good reason. The monstrous spirit had opened its huge mouth in a way that told of its intentions to devour her.

I grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her along, but a loud screech behind us made me stop. Turning, I found another girl in a black yukata slicing with a long, slim sword at the spirit. She cut its stomach area first, and then flipped up to swing her weapon through the spirit's head. Surprisingly, the creature disintegrated after that, going from a black fuzz to pure white before it had fully vanished.

"Who are you?" I shouted, more than a little confused at what was going on. She completely ignored me and just ran off somewhere, leaving me to gape at her.

"Thank goodness," the spirit beside me breathed out in relief. She had been really scared, so I decided the best I could do was just comfort her.

"Hey, you be careful, alright?" I nodded to her slightly. "If you're ever in trouble again, call out 'Kurosaki Ichigo', and I'll definitely come," I promised solemnly.

"Thank you so much," she said with a sweet smile, and then we parted ways. Unfortunately, school is a mandatory part of a tenth graders life.

I walked on to school and went throughout that day struggling to not just zone out of the classroom and into the morning's battle. Ever since I turned fifteen, it's like stuff started happening. A book character would say it was because fifteen was an important age or something, like how with humans eighteen marks your becoming an adult. Actually, I'm fairly sure it used to be fifteen, long, loooong ago. Funny that the human race has gotten more immature as we progress.

When the school bell finally rang, I walked at a fairly slow pace, bumped into by all the kids eager to get away. Sadly, I lacked that enthusiasm currently and excused myself with a forced smile from hanging out with my friends. Upon reaching my house I went straight up to my room fully prepared to begin brooding. Somehow I managed to finish my homework before I collapsed on my bed.

_That thing was a spirit_, I thought. _But how would that work? It chased that girl, but why? And then there was that other girl that fought it. She didn't even respond to me, how rude was that?!_

My thought process went something like that until a black butterfly and a barely familiar form showed up. I briefly took that time to actually look at the girl, to see her black hair, dark purple eyes, and furrowed brows. She looked very grim, with her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Who are you?" I asked accusingly. After all, technically this was breaking and entering; even if she was a spirit.

My only answer was silence. The shorty had the nerve to ignore me in my own room!

"Hey!" I barked. "I asked you a question." Still no response. I had had enough.

Bringing my right leg up with just enough force to stun, I whacked the spirit in the head. By the surprise on her face, I figured she either had not noticed me or had not thought I would do anything.

"Who are you!?" I asked again with irritation in my voice.

"Y-you can see me?" she sputtered out, looking like a child caught in the act of doing something she wasn't supposed to.

"Of course, now respond!" If I hadn't been subconsciously aware of family in the house, I may have done more than yell, but as it was I didn't need them getting false ideas about me.

"Kuchiki Rukia," she said with shock still evident in her expression and posture. "Wait," she started, a faint look of recognition on her face, "aren't you the boy from earlier.

_Aha, she remembers!_

"Yeah, now would ya mind explaining?"

Five minutes and an explanation later saw me sitting backwards on a chair and Rukia sitting formally on the floor in front of me.

"So," I stated, "you are a Soul Reaper (shinigami)." She nodded with serious eyes. "And you're here to defeat evil spirits like the one that showed up earlier." Another nod. "To protect the other spirits and send them on to Soul Society."

"Yes."

"I understand," I nodded grimly, then switched quickly to an angry expression. "Do you really expect me to believe that?!" I thundered, standing up and knocking the chair over.

"What?" she stood as well with an incredulous expression. "You mean to say that you see spirits and yet you won't believe in Soul Reapers?!"

"I've never seem a shinigami before, and I only believe in what I see! And you are not one, so scurry on home, Pipsqueak."

Revealing my nickname for her was my biggest mistake, and she exploded at the comment, obviously not on good terms with being short.

"Bakudo Number One: Sai!" she shouted, jutting her small hands out toward me.

Instantly I regretted my actions as I found myself immobilized on the floor with my hands pulled by an unseen force behind my back.

_Come on, really?!_

While I sulked, Rukia continued on with her explanation. This time, she used a sketch pad to display a chart and her terrible artistic skills. Someone needed to stop encouraging her!

One half of the paper was black with a bad bear face, and lightning bolts, labeled "Hollow". The other side was white with a good bear face, hearts, and a cursive "Whole".

"There are two kinds of spirits in this world, Earth," she said plainly, gesturing to the picture. "The good spirits are called Whole, and Soul Reapers send them over to Soul Society. The evil spirits are called Hollow, like the one you saw me fight earlier. They devour Whole, and also spirits from still alive humans."

My head started pounding and I could sense a spirit nearby.

"Why are you here?" I asked, writhing on the floor in another effort to get up.

"There is a Hollow I'm tracking, but it has been eluding me for some reason. I can't sense it."

In the distance I heard a terrible, inhuman scream like the one from the Hollow earlier on.

"Can't you hear it?" I gasped out. "Can't you hear the howls? It's close."

A crash sounded at the front of the house, and I heard my sisters scream.

"Yuzu! Karin!" I yelled, struggling even harder to stand.

"It's useless, just stay here," Rukia barked, moving her hand to the hilt of her sword.

Yuzu opened the door, and her appearance made me inhale quickly. There were scratches all over her face, she looked beaten.

"Nii-chan," she gasped out, falling against the hard floor of the hallway. "It has Karin-nee-chan... You have to save her..."

Her eyes glittered with tears, and I fought even harder to stand. Rukia ran out, but rather than feeling reassured I just felt more panicked. I used my head to push to my feet, arms still forced behind my back, and rushed out the door and down the stairs to where the Hollow was. It had Karin in its grip, was lifting her up to its mouth.

"Karin!" I shouted.

Rukia looked at me in surprise, then almost with fear when she saw me working to move my arms. "Don't," she cried out. "You'll only hurt yourself!"

Everything beyond that just kind of became background static. I could faintly see signs popping up around me, but mainly all I could see was Karin struggling against the Hollow's grip. All I could hear was the blood rushing through my ears. In a burst of pain, my arms were free. Heedless of Rukia's gasp I grabbed a fallen sign pole and ran to the Hollow.

It dropped Karin upon seeing me, which I was grateful for; my attempt to attack it ended with me flung back, hitting a brick wall with a sickening thud.

"Ichigo!" Rukia shouted. "Stop," she shook her head furiously when I stood to run at the Hollow again. This one was very big, taller than the other I had seen, though they shared the masked face and hole in their chest.

In front of it, I seemed so tiny, so insignificant. I saw its face coming at me, mouth open wide, but a dark figure jumped in front of me the moment it came down. Rukia, much smaller then myself, was held by her stomach from the Hollow, blood gushing out of her wound.

"Rukia," I gasped as she was released to the ground. I pulled her over to the side of a building.

"Ichigo," she said strongly, her glare firm. She seemed much bigger for that. "You cannot just give up and place yourself to be eaten. That proves no strength!" Her darks eyes squinted a bit from pain, but she might as well have been narrowing them in anger.

"I _need_ to do something," I nearly begged. "I cannot stand by and watch this destruction happen to my family."

"There is a way." Rukia drew out her sword, brows furrowed. "I must drive my zanpukuto through your chest and transfer my powers, making you a substitute Soul Reaper."

I didn't even hesitate before saying, "Do it."

I leaned over her, as she was limited to sitting at the moment, and faced the silver weapon with steely determination. It was probably more my own strength than Rukia's that plunged the sword through my chest, and then there was a brilliant light. I felt... stronger, vitalized... It was almost like... like I had been given an energy boost, a cleanser of sorts.

Before I knew what I was doing, I whipped through the air with a huge sword of my own; the hilt alone was nearly the length of my forearm. I slashed through the Hollow, and it disappeared like the one in the morning had.

With that over, I had a chance to look myself over. I almost had a heart attack. That would have been a terrible thing to die from after all that had happened.

My hair had grown longer, and I was amazed I hadn't noticed it before. I wore a black yukata like Rukia had, although when I looked over to her I found she wasn't anymore. And there was one more tiny thing... I had boobs.

I'm not talking about man-boobs. No, I was still fit and well-muscled. I'm talking like a real, honest-to-goodness chest that belonged to a woman, not me.

"Rukia?" I started, and when my voice sounded feminine, I was down for hysterics as well. I dropped my sword and started panicking, swatting at myself, and get this: Rukia had the nerve to laugh.

**({[\|-~•~-|/]})**

_**Hahaha! Now you have to come back for more! JK, you don't, but endings like that usually leave one wanting more. At least, I sincerely hope that's what your reaction will be... Oh well, it's time to start something!**_

_**At the end of each chapter, Ichigo will have a rating for how she-used-to-be-he feels about girls and boys. Obviously, a switch of gender will not be enough to cause her to be girly and like males. So this will be like a status report. I may even decide to put how she feels about certain people, male or female. Alright, on to the report~**_

**Kurosaki Ichigo's Feelings Report (KIFR)**

**Girls:** I have a crush on someone, thank you very much.

**Boys:** Ew, that's nasty. No offense, but I'm _not_ a homo. And I _am_ a guy *****glares at author*****

**Kuchiki Rukia:** She may be cute, but she has been extremely rude. Although I'm sure that could change.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **_**The characters and everything from Bleach isn't mine and all credits should go to Tite Kubo. The only thing I own is the plot, though the story will follow the anime. Don't worry, it should get better.**_

* * *

**Soul Reapers**

Rukia wouldn't stop laughing at me. It was rude. I honestly don't think my expression was that funny.

After the Hollow passed on or whatever, I somehow ended up in my room with the short shinigami. Karin and Yuzu had their memories replaced and injuries healed, so I didn't have to worry about them. My dad was _still_ out on business for the clinic, so he wasn't a problem either. It was myself I was worried about.

I had been returned to my body; apparently, being a substitute shinigami or whatever means my spirit leaves my body. And to put it lightly, I was freaking out over the new changes. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't changed so much.

My orange hair reached down to my lower back, now, and I had curves. The sad thing is, I made a really hot girl, but I couldn't appreciate it because it was, well, me! And I am a boy, a male teenager, not a girl. I felt extremely picked on.

"Your spirit power is massive," Rukia explained when her giggles finally faded out. "I think that is why those Hollows showed up. They weren't after the Whole in the area, exactly, but, rather, you. And it's also the reason why all of my Soul Reaper powers are basically gone. Additionally, there is a chance that the release of those powers was so big that it caused your gender to reverse. Other than that, I don't really understand why it would have happened."

What I didn't understand was how she could be so calm and serious. An edge of hysteria entered my tone, yet again, when I said, "So how do I go back?!"

"That may be impossible. For now, you'll just have to wait until I regain my powers. I'll be able to travel to Soul Society then, and see about returning you to normal. But more than that, before I regain my powers you'll have to carry out the duties of the Soul Reaper for Karakura."

"No." If I wasn't going to get my way, neither was Rukia.

"Ichigo," her jaw ticked, "you will stay a girl forever if you don't."

Sweat beaded on my brow and I gulped nervously. "Fine," I ended up giving in. "But you have to help me out with..." I searched for words before giving up and finishing, "...this," while I gestured at my new body.

"Deal."

Rukia stuck out her small hand and I took it with my own. I was shocked that even my rough hands were gone, replaced with slim, nice-looking ones. My body had seriously changed.

We shook and then went about fixing up a nightly routine. I had to wash my face, and, of course, go to the bathroom. Rukia was there to try and soothe me after the traumatizing experience, as I was not interested in girls _that _way. For the most part, I hadn't thought about liking someone, or all that physical stuff hormones induce. Sure, my friends at school mentioned it, Keigo even often. But I was always focused on something else, or on the actual person rather than body. Rukia warmed up to me when I said that, and that's when I got worried again.

In the end, she made fort within my closet, and I went to sleep with only slightly better feelings about everything.

* * *

The morning was hectic as soon as it started. Police showed up, the wreckage was blamed on a truck, and the neighborhood was amazed they hadn't woken. Oh yeah, my dad also decided to try and kick me good morning.

"Rise and shine, son of mine!" he called enthusiastically as he sailed through the air.

"Heyah!" I countered with crossed arms, and then I jumped down to the floor on top of him, covering his eyes with my outstretched hand.

"I have nothing left to teach you," he cried comically, and I almost lifted my hand at the feeling of his wet, stubbly face.

Now, if you don't know why I covered his eyes, it's because there was absolutely no way I was ready for my father to find my gender change. I had asked Rukia the previous night about cutting my hair and binding my chest, but she had counseled me to just leave it because there was no telling when I would change back. Basically, I might as well get the initial showing over with so things were easier later on.

I lifted my hand with many sweat drops and much fear. This was the big moment.

"Ichigo, have you been hiding something from me?"

_Cue mental face palm._

"Dad," I started uncertainly. "I..."

"I will always accept you for who you are," he cried. "It does not matter if my son has a few strange fetishes, I will not stop loving you. You can tell me anything, you know that, right?"

My dad looked at me with bright eyes and I knew immediately what conclusion he had come to. He thought I was cross dressing! He thought I was gay!

I heard snickers from my closet, and noted to myself to kill Rukia later.

"That's not it," is what I wanted to say, but the real explanation would only further complicate things. Things were not looking up so much.

After much hassle, including Yuzu's exclamation, "I have two sisters!" and Karin's double-take, I was off to school with Rukia, who had somehow gotten hold of a uniform and would be joining me. Still with my same _male_ uniform that now didn't quite fit in places and was strangely snug in others.

"That was highly amusing," she said, flipping her raven black hair. "I love your family!"

"You can have 'em," I grumbled sullenly. My own orange hair swishing around only helped because it hid my face. I flashed annoyed brown eyes at her.

"It's not _that_ bad." Rukia pointed at me with a huge grin. "Besides, I've always wanted a gay best friend."

I blushed from the tips of my ears to the bottom of my feet; she was acting as if I were a guy that would like other guys or I were a girl liking other girls, I just knew it. And based off of my dad's reaction, she wasn't the only one.

We reached school with time to spare, and the first thing I did was knock into someone while turning a corner. I tried to just keep going, hoping I wouldn't be recognized, but of course Tatsuki stopped me for her best friend.

"Apologize," she growled. "You knocked Orihime down, so you better apologize and take responsibility." With a sigh I turned to her fully, expression perhaps a little too fierce. "Ichigo?" she gasped, dark eyes widening.

"I'm sorry, Inoue-san," I said. I held out a hand and tried not to hang off of her reaction too much.

"K-Kurosaki-kun," Orihime stammered, scooting back a little on the floor. I noticed the dropped books and started picking them up.

"What happened to you?" Tatsuki asked incredulously after grabbing my shoulder to turn me so she could take me in.

"I was kidnapped." It was totally random, totally unplanned, but I suddenly had a story. "Someone kidnapped me overnight; did you see my house on the news, with all the wreckage? Person who caused it took me and experimented on me until this happened. It was terrible. I've been traumatized."

Rukia ran down the hall so she wouldn't crack up laughing, and both Tatsuki and Orihime gasped in horror. Tatsuki hugged me fiercely, blushed, and then turned to help Orihime up, who then did the same. Apparently, by some miracle, they believed me. I decided I would keep that story.

For the rest of the day, I received similar reactions from the female population, and I think the males would have all laid down their lives for me if I asked. At least, most of the school's population was like that. People who didn't get the story from me because we weren't on terms period probably didn't give a crap or didn't get the story, although I was sure I would become the new item of gossip over the weekend. And then there were those people that were all hateful whispers of "Attention-seeker," and such. I only thanked the heavens that I wouldn't have to deal with it for two days.

* * *

Saturday began with sleeping in, something I was grateful for. Friday night had seen Rukia showing me how to do Kōnso on a Whole after saving it from a Hollow. According to her, I did pretty good for a newbie. Then we stayed up late talking, arguing, really, about how I would fit in Soul Reaper duties and school. On my side, school was more important, 'cause I was definitely not taking up the shinigami gig as a lifetime thing. Rukia, of course, argued the opposite side, saying, "A Soul Reaper must be totally committed to do the job properly." We settled with staying in school but leaving if her phone thingy alerted of Hollows.

So, suffice it to say, I was thankful for being able to catch up on sleep. Judging on the snores from the closet, Rukia was as well.

"Oi, Rukiaaaaa," I dragged out her name purposefully. "Neeee, Rukiaaaaaa..."

I crawled silently off my bed to the floor, bare feet skimming the carpet. Slowly, I tiptoed over to my closet, even slower I slid it open...and then...BAM! I jumped on Rukia and was fought against swiftly in return. A karate chop here, a block there, a kick here, a returned kick there... You know, all good things.

"Ichigo," she thundered. "What was that for?"

"You needed to wake up so we can go shopping," I said plaintively. "I require woman supplies." I hated to say it, but it was true. I needed to be prepared, and I needed bras. It is very revealing when a girl wears a shirt without a bra...as I had awkwardly found out.

"Ugh," she grunted.

I got dressed in jeans and a white tee that had been a little small before but was now a belly shower, while Rukia "borrowed" one of Yuzu's dresses. Once in "appropriate attire," she climbed out the window and I walked down the stairs; I told Karin I was going outside, then took my exit. She didn't really react, although she might have been a tad surprised I was still obviously female.

After shopping with Rukia, I decided that I really needed to stop traumatizing myself so often. She helped me find clothes, making very blunt comments about my figure. Then we went into the embarrassing topic of bras, continuing into Rukia wondering if I would have...periods...because I was a fifteen year-old girl. I swear, I blushed enough that the cashier thought I was hitting on him or something, cause he definitely looked me up and down and mouthed call me. He took it as far as to write his phone number on the receipt!

I set to devising a plan to never go into the public ever again while Rukia took me to the site of another Hollow I had to cleanse or whatever. It was a short fight, because it was really weak. This one had a creepy clown-smile mask and a monkey-like body. I didn't even get to a shouting match over this one; talk about disappointing.

"Ichigo," Rukia glared at me afterwards. "Stop being so cocky. They will not all be that weak, so you need to train up as well."

"But Rukia-saaaaaaaaannnn," I moaned childishly. Her eyes smiled a teeny bit but the rest of her expression remained stern. I really felt like a little kid around her, and she was super tiny compared to me. "Do I haaaaaave to?"

"Yes." She flipped her hair (I wanna learn how to do it effectively like that if I'm gonna have to keep my long hair) and continued to walk in front of me, showing dominance yet again. Rukia is really bossy. I don't think I'll ever be able to think she's cute at the end of this.

We were about a block from home when we ran into Inoue. She was crossing the street with groceries when a car came speeding down; the nice kind that means it belongs to a rich kid showing off.

"Inoue!" I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled. I dropped the bags I held (apparently I was still the man so I had to carry them) and ran over, my shirt riding up even more. "Watch out!"

The car got to her before I did, but somehow swerved just enough to barely skim her. Her long orange hair laid out around her in her new position on the ground. Rukia signaled me to pick up Inoue's groceries while she calmed the other girl down. I gathered the fallen fruit and vegetables quickly, rubbing each on my shirt before storing it back in the plastic bag. I grabbed my stuff too before returning to where Rukia was helping her new friend up.

"Are you okay?" I asked calmly, internally freaking out.

"Yes," Inoue said, voice a little faint.

"You sure?" I pushed. Rukia just kept her eyes fixed on the other girl.

"Yes."

I looked her up and down, inspecting for injuries, to find a large bruise forming on her arms, almost in the shape of a big hand. I pointed to it with a raised eyebrow, and Rukia spoke for both of us when she said, "That sure looks like it hurts to me."

Inoue looked at her arm in confusion, as if she really had no idea what we were talking about, and her thin brows jumped at the sight. "Do you want us to walk you home?" I offered.

"No, no, I feel fine. I'll make it home alright, no need to be bothered." With that taken care of I handed her her bags, only just now realizing the strange combinations held within them. Considering what Tatsuki's reactions were to sharing Inoue's bentou...it made sense...but I still shuddered.

Rukia and I continued on after parting with the strange red-head, though we were both still concerned. Then again, I'm probably always concerned about something. We went to a park and Rukia started teaching me about reiatsu. I honestly found it difficult to follow, but you have to give me credit for trying. She blew off my complaint about her style of teaching and continued to draw in her weird, creepy way.

"Reiryoku is spiritual power," Rukia started over once more when I still didn't get it. "Remember how I said that it was your power that attracted the hollows?"

I nodded my head slowly in response, concentrating as much as I could with my hands bound behind my back by itchy rope.

"The power that attracted them was your high level of reiryoku."

Without anything to compare all this stuff to, I was struggling, although this was probably the best explanation so far.

"When you actually use the power, your reiryoku, it's called reiatsu." I nodded. "When you broke the bond on your arms before, that was you using reiatsu." I nodded again. "What I used to bind you was reiatsu, as well." I hummed to show that I was still with her. "So by controlling your power, you can do more stuff like that with lots of practice."

"Meaning that when you said before that I needed to train, you meant with the reiatsu stuff?" I asked, just to be sure.

"Yes."

"Don' wanna."

Rukia, obviously expecting a totally different answer, anticipating, even, started to nod, saying, "I will teach-" before she halted her actions. "Wait, what?!" She took up arms, her eyes shooting purple darts at me.

"How many times to I have to tell you," I said calmly, "that I am not taking this position up for life. I should be strong enough now to do everything necessary."

"And I told you to take this seriously!" Rukia yelled at me. "Do you think I wanted to give you all my powers? Take responsibility!"

A loud beeping sound cut me off before I had the chance to retort, and Rukia jumped up from her seat on the bench we had found. I heard the strange scream that hollows make. I stood as well, forcefully breaking the rope that had been irritating my hands. The short shinigami took the thingy she used to separate my spirit from my body and shoved it at my chest. The tingly feeling of my hands waking up disappeared as I almost fell for the second time that day. She really needed to give me some warning when she did that, and it was especially weird to see my body lying motionless on the ground.

I looked away to focus on the hollow that had shimmered into existence, randomly wondering where they came from. And how the heck they got such ugly appearances. This one had a sort of narrow face, with more recognizable features in the mask than I had seen previously; it had arms that ended in five long claws on each hand, but instead of legs its torso turned scaly past the mid section, stretching out into a serpent's tail. It was creepy, to say the least.

I took my sword from my back and stood in a confident stance, waiting for the hollow to make the first move so I had an idea of how it fought. So far, each hollow used its most powerful attack first, probably aiming to quickly kill. Even though Rukia said I wasn't taking the role of a soul reaper seriously, I was. I mean, who would be stupid enough to recklessly jump into any fight without any knowledge? I may not have all A's in school, but I'm smarter than that.

The hollow lashed out with its long tail first, and I dodged only to quickly be faced with the claws on its left hand. I brought my sword up and...I think the correct term would be parried?...in retaliation. I used its momentum against itself by flipping onto the still moving arm, allowing it to get get temporarily stuck in a tree. As it pulled back, uprooting the tree, I ran up its arm and slashed across its mask. I guess I didn't hit hard enough, because the only thing that resulted from the blow was a piece of the mask, the area of the right eye, being chipped off. The breaking looked and even sounded like when a piece of porcelain cracked or broke.

The distraction very nearly cost me when a tree I had forgotten about was flung at me. "Ichigo!" Rukia had shouted to bring me away from what I had seen. I barely managed to duck and avoid the flying tree, but right after it came the serpentine tail. It was that moment that it was brought to my attention that the tip of the hollow's tail was way too pointed for a tail. Luckily for me, it only skimmed me before shimmering out of existence.

I turned to Rukia, confused. "What happened?" I demanded. "What was that?"

She sighed, which only irritated me more. "You removed part of its mask, so it probably went back to recuperate."

"No," I said strongly, the memory rubbing against me again, the face stuck in my mind. "Why did that thing have the face of Inoue's brother?"

* * *

Rukia explained to me more properly exactly what hollows were. She told me while we walked home and put up what we had bought. The raven-haired girl started with telling me that this was exactly why soul reapers were always supposed to attack from behind. I was almost worried by how serious her tone was, how her eyes seemed somewhat...distant.

To sum it up, hollows start out as wholes, but by not moving on they can choose to become hollows or are forcefully turned into hollows by another to act as a meal-fetcher of sorts. To eat or bring along certain people so the turner could consume their reishi. Even to be fattened like a pig and eaten themselves.

The new information sent me reeling. I may be able to kill monsters without too much consideration, but a _human_? Someone that had once lived the same as I? When it was possible that they didn't even want to do what they were doing? _That_ I could not do.

Rukia told me that it wasn't actually killing them, but at that point I stopped listening. I felt numb. I kept putting the clothes away, folding them up, smoothing out wrinkles, peeling and ripping off tags, but my mind drifted away. I stopped seeing what I was doing, and started envisioning the hollows I had fought so far. I heard their terrible screams, saw each one with a face. I tried to push it away; I didn't want this guilty conscience on top of everything else. The feeling stayed, though, even without the images and sounds.

"Ichigo," Rukia said, suddenly right in my face. Her expression was serious, and called my attention to a constant beeping sound I had been too out of it to notice. It was the hollow detector.

She punched my shinigami self out of my body for the third time that day, and I finally didn't fall. I just whipped around to see a familiar figure shimmering into existence. He wasn't as I had left him, though. The mask was fixed, so I could no longer physically see Inoue's brother's face, but my mind continued to torture me with it. I remembered again the last time I had seen that face, with a younger Inoue curled over his limp body. The feeling of a spirit tearing away from its body.

"Ichigo, move!" Rukia shouted at me, causing me to notice that the hollow had begun a fatal sweep in my inattentiveness. Also, I had been trembling.

I blocked the tail with my sword, trying to cause the least amount of damage I could in my room. To my surprise, as soon as Rukia and I hopped out the two-story window to lead it away, the hollow disappeared.

"Where could it be?" I asked Rukia half-heartedly. Then my heartbeat sped up as I connected a few dots of the puzzle. One of them was Inoue Orihime. "Inoue-san," I whispered.

I ran at a furious pace to the apartment building where my red-head friend lived; I knew from walking her home when she was alone. Behind me Rukia struggled to match the pace, but she was no match against my enhanced speed. Being a shinigami has its benefits. Being a boy that works out helps as well, and don't you dare think for a moment that I am female. I am still a man, and will remain so. I just have to figure some things out, is all. But back to Inoue's house.

I heard the strangely mournful cry of a hollow, and I knew I was almost too late. I strained my body even more to reach her in time, taking an impossibly large leap to reach the fourth floor. (Author knows this is probably not where Inoue-san lives, but is too lazy to look up something that may take a while or not even be there.) A much more human scream pierced the air, causing a shiver to ripple down my exerting muscles.

I stood on a balcony, the curtains pulled tight, although they swished as if someone was sending draft across them. I honestly had no idea if I had jumped to the correct room, but I didn't stop for the courtesy of checking. My limbs continued to pump me forward, shattering the glass doors and nearly ripping the mint green curtains away from their rods. Normally, I would feel terrible for the woman who quickly began shrieking when a "ghost" came a rather physical way into the room. As it was, I was in too much of a hurry to care.

Another scream sounded, to my left, and I turned accordingly after exiting the woman's apartment. When I arrived, the balcony doors were mercifully already open. Glass is painful, even if you are full of adrenaline. To my horror, inside was not only Inoue_ \- _who was being held down by her brother's hollow - but Tatsuki was there as well. And she was hurt and bewildered, unable to see what held Inoue but still fighting. My anger reared up, enough that I momentarily forgot my reluctance to fight and kill any hollow.

I continued full speed towards the hollow, driving it off Inoue and back around to the open balcony. We struggled while falling through the air, and, though it happened in a mere few seconds, it felt and looked as if it took longer. I had withdrawn my sword to block and attack, and we spun a great many times before the hollow crushed me to the ground. A crater formed in the concrete due the force of the fall.

The hollow made its terrible noise as it continued to pound against me, and I against it. Its snake-like tail whipped around to trip me, and I was so focused on the upper half that I missed it. While I was down I saw Rukia running out of the apartment building with Inoue. The red-head looked frightened, but also determined. I felt a little better knowing that Rukia had a plan because the inability to seriously fight the hollow had come back full force.

"Orihime," the hollow ground out, its vocal cords causing the sound to be almost similar to its screams. Inoue stiffened in response, probably still unable to see her brother, but able to hear him.

"Ni-chan," she whispered. As I looked at her more fully, I realized that Inoue was in shackles, and that her form was that of a spirit.

"Inoue-san," I called out, distressed. My long hair fell forward into my face, and I pushed it back, growing more and more frustrated with this situation. Blood pounded through my head, blocking any sound; my vision flashed sporadically, going to white, black, and pictures from memories. My hands trembled, and I felt incredibly weak. I struggled to stand, but my legs were shaking as well. For a moment, I felt as if I were in a nightmare. The type of one in which you can't do anything, you can only watch as you and the ones you care about are devoured.

I used my overly large sword to push myself up, staggering even with the extra support. In front of me, I caught a glimpse of Inoue again, speaking to her brother, before my vision flashed again. After waiting for a few seconds, I started to get my senses back, and saw the hollow lunging at Inoue. The world slowed down again, and I worked to speed over to where she was, to block the blow that would surely kill her. The masked face seemed to unhinge its jaw, as if it were really a snake, and the gaping hole came down over Inoue. But it was stopped by the arms the unfortunate girl threw around the hollow's face. She stopped her brother with a hug.

I didn't waste any more time in rushing over, discarding the tingling sensation that swept over me. I didn't hesitate this time to plunge my sword through the thing's chest. But I did feel an overwhelming sadness as the hollow that was Inoue's brother dissipated into white light, then faded away. Just before it was gone, I heard an echo of its mournful cry.

Inoue collapsed then, unconscious, and Rukia looked at me with a something akin to a combination of pity and pride. I shuddered, and felt about to fall myself thanks to my traitorous limbs. The short soul reaper came to me in hurried strides, but she didn't run. There wasn't exactly a point. Even she knew that I would be just fine if I fell. But she was fast enough to help me sit naturally.

After I regained my strength we helped Inoue's soul back to her body, which was still in her apartment, and erased and replaced both her and Tatsuki's memories of the night. It reminded me of the previous Thursday night, when I had first been faced with a hollow. It seemed so long ago that it had happened, and yet so unreal in the fact that it had turned my body into that of a female's. Everything had a touch of that surreal quality now, as if suddenly nothing made sense. I sincerely hoped that it would start to soon, but I began to fear that nothing would ever be like was before. That it couldn't be.

Rukia and I walked home slowly, occasionally speaking but mostly staying quiet. When we arrived, we crept in quietly, careful not to wake up my family. I returned to my body in my room, slowly going through the nightly checklist Rukia had set up for me. She said as a girl I had to take care of myself more than I would regularly. Bed beckoned me while I slipped into one of the pairs of pajamas we had picked out earlier. They were a sky blue with strawberries scattered all across; a loose short-sleeve tee and equally loose pants with a string that wrapped around the waste and could be tightened.

I climbed into my bed as Rukia entered her own makeshift one in the closet. She didn't pull the door closed, though; she just sat and faced me with her firm expression that was starting to become something I associated with her. Figuring that this was the part where she would scold me, I turned away so I wouldn't have to look at her.

"Ichigo" was what she started with, as usual. "Soul Reapers do not kill hollows. They purify them." I was tempted to roll over to face her, but I resisted. That would show weak will. "Wholes go to Soul Society, but they have to be released from all physical ties first. Sometimes Soul Reapers don't reach them fast enough, and they become Hollows. The Hollows are then stuck, because they cannot 'move on' in that form. Soul Reapers then have the duty to purify their souls, allowing the Hollow to go back to Soul Society. We are not killers, Ichigo. We are protectors."

With that, Rukia slid the closet door shut, leaving me to my thoughts. I fell asleep with a much lighter heart, and a rock-solid determination to get better. To protect.

* * *

_**Hello! This is author! Sorry for delay. In case you haven't noticed, this is a really long chapter and I'm a procrastinator and slow. Plus, I have tons of other stories I work on (I haven't uploaded very many, but the last time I counted I have over thirty stories started [they just won't leave me alone! ^_^"]) So I don't feel as guilty as I might. Now, on to KIFR! :)**_

**Kurosaki Ichigo's Feelings Report (KIFR)**

**Girls: **Obviously still like 'em, so you ain't ever gonna win this battle.

**Boys:** I wouldn't get with a guy if he were the last person besides me on Earth. No way.

**Inoue Orihime:** She is super cute and sweet, despite her strange habits. And she's super brave. Did you see her with her brother?


	3. Chapter 3

**_An update as a tribute to the epic eater of free time... School..._**

**_I kept hitting "w" instead of "q," making it seem like Ichigo thought with a speech impediment. Er, thought impediment? It was funny. Thought it might make you laugh if you imagine it while you read, so I put this up here._**

**Disclaimer: _The characters and everything from Bleach isn't mine and all credits should go to Tite Kubo. The only thing I own is the plot, though the story will follow the anime. That said, the connection may grow blurry at times due to the plot I am inserting._**

**A Protector**

* * *

I combed my hands through my hair slowly, inhaling the resulting fragrance of my shampoo and conditioner deeply. The long orange strands had attained a silky quality that I was rather proud of. I had decided, at one point or another, that if I was gonna be a girl, I was gonna at least do it well. Meaning that I was going to have fun with it.

Also, Rukia had insulted my hair and flaunted her fluffy locks in my face. I hate to say it, but I completely took the bait. Sadly, it is easier to urge others not to give in to comments like that than resist yourself. I would be ashamed, too, if I hadn't gotten any results for it. Thankfully, I at least was able to do that much.

A week had passed since the hollow incident with Inoue, and I was settling in bit by bit to my new role. Getting rid of hollows was easier, mentally and physically speaking, and I now had a sort of system in which to do it. Rukia basically gave me a lesson on strategies and planning and being prepared for anything and all that junk. She seemed like such a quiet and nice person at school, but that shortie knew how to argue.

My group of friends expanded to include Inoue and Tatsuki more closely. Lunch time was the only time we really all gathered together, but even without me as the connector, I could tell they got along just fine. It was nice to know things wouldn't be awkward if a hollow came along at lunch time. However, it was sort of awkward for me.

When you are two genders - in my case, you were one and then you suddenly unwillingly changed - everybody will see you as the gender they prefer you to be, or make girl stereotypes about having to protect you. Obviously, no one was going to treat me exactly the same as before, but irritatingly enough it seemed like most people had decided to treat me like a full-on girl. Take Keigo, for instance. Normally, his blinding smiles and dramatic pouts were reserved for the female population. However, now that I am apparently part of that population, he has turned it on me. So I kick him, like I normally do when he does things like that. Except now I have a skirt, but I'm not used to kicking in a way that doesn't reveal anything, and so everyone in that direction sees! It's so aggravating! I need to get Tatsuki to teach me sometime soon. And all of this isn't even mentioning Chad, who literally acts like my guardian now. I feel like I lost my best friend, it's not fair... When I find what power made me female, it will pay dearly.

I looked indecisively at what Karakura High's canteen offered. My mind was currently evenly split between yakisoba bread and melonpan. Behind me the line grew as I could only comb my slim hands through my hair thoughtfully. It was a soothing kind of movement, as much as actually brushing can be; I found that out on Sunday when I had a real free day (minus the occasional hollow, of course). Chad's figure somewhat towered over me - I think I actually shrunk during the transformation, though I was still tall - as evidenced by the shadow that added on to mine. He looked at the two choices in my hand and appeared to be contemplating something while I continued to wallow in my indecisiveness. "Just get both," he finally concluded aloud.

I squinted in response, making one last-ditch effort to pick _one_ before I did just that. The gods of canteen food had nothing particular to say to me, apparently not caring either way, so I nodded and rested both on the counter, punching in my number. I distinctly heard a sigh of relief chorus through the line as I left and I whipped around to glare. I'm pretty sure I wasn't there _that_ long...

"Thanks Chad," I said appreciatively. Usually I was a very firm type of person, and this recent bout of indecisiveness had taken me by surprise. It had me slightly worried that the transformation had somewhat altered my personality.

Chad just nodded and patted me on the back like he usually did. He wasn't a very talkative fellow, nor I, so we understood each other pretty well. At least, I thought we did until me being a girl changed a few things between us. So annoying! His curly brown hair sort of hid his eyes, but I could still read the familiar emotions with ease. He was seeing me as some little thing to protect. It was the way he looked at all of the girls and scrawny guys we saved from groups that ganged up on them, something we used to do a whole lot more but haven't as much since high school. I wanted to growl at him that I was still the same person, but I knew it was probably because Chad knew how disgruntled I had been upon the transformation. So I just did my best to smile at him and act like I wasn't bothered by it.

We walked up to the roof after entering the main building, to where our group usually ate. Me and him were normally a little bit later because we got lunch at the canteen, but everyone else brought bentos. Surprisingly, Rukia managed to get one as well ever since she had been found out at my house. She got along really well with Yuzu and Karin, even sleeping in their room now. Actually, the whole thing had been pretty funny...

_I stuck my head out the door to check the hallway, orange hair falling over my shoulder. The coast was clear, so I signaled Rukia, who was a foot behind me. "Let's go," I whisper-commanded. The ravenette nodded in response and we ran in a military fashion to the corner hiding the stairway. I peered around and saw no one, so I made a 'come' gesture and quietly shuffled down as she followed my lead. The goal was to get food from the kitchen and clothes from the laundry room, saving up for a period of time, because my shinigami friend required more than one set of casual clothes and had discovered that gigais - whatever those were - actually needed sustenance. I ducked around the corner at the bottom and motioned for her to follow. It was also good stealth experience, according to her._

_The kitchen was most likely to be occupied, so we would check it first and go for the clothes if someone was there. Actually, that was my plan, but Rukia thought we should split up. I had practically forced her to agree to mine before we left, though, so I figured we should be okay. If worst came to worst I could say she was my friend from school. It helped that we were both still in our uniforms. I stopped right before the entrance to the kitchen and strained to see past the wooden frame without alerting anyone that might be inside to my presence. Normally I was a rather blunt person, so I was completely unused to all of this sneaking around. I made a signal that it was safe and quickly walked in, heading directly for the fridge. From here the plan was for me to grab and hold the food, and then we would go to the laundry room and Rukia would grab the clothes she wanted. Once I had what I deemed to be enough to the point where any more would go bad before consumption, I swiveled to lead the black-haired shinigami to the next destination. Only to find she wasn't there._

_A scream that nearly stopped my heart sounded, and I immediately dropped everything to rush to the source. What I found astounded me in that I had expected some terrible thing to have happened, and it hadn't. Rather than seeing a catastrophe of some sort when I rushed with the laundry room, I saw Yuzu clasping hands with Rukia, squealing in what appeared to be utter delight. Rukia, on the other hand, was a mix of guilt and excitement. A sigh released itself from my still open mouth before I closed it and waited for the pair to notice me._

_"Ichigo brought a girl home!" Yuzu shouted joyfully, causing my jaw to drop once more._

_"I did no such thing," I said defensively. "She came of her own accord and I couldn't get rid of her."_

_Apparently, no one cared what I had to say as the family ended up celebrating, sans me. Then it came to be night and they realized that Rukia had no plan on 'going home.' I just tossed my long, orange hair and let her figure out her excuse by herself. She ended up getting teary-eyed and saying that she had no where to go so I had offered her my house as a place to stay._

_"Ichigo is such a good friend," Rukia sniffled in finishing. I nearly groaned at the teary eyes Yuzu and Goat-face were displaying, as if they were truly moved._

So, yeah. We got found out because Rukia strayed from the plan. This is why I don't make plans; no one ever thinks it will work better than their own so no one follows it but me.

Chad and I sat in the open space that had been left for us in the circle our friends made, and I promptly dodged a hurtling Keigo by leaning into Chad. "Sorry," I apologized for my intrusion of space as I straightened out my posture. I noticed a few weird glances my way but thought nothing of it.

We all talked - me and Chad not so much as the others - as we ate, and towards the end of the lunch period Chad introduced us to his new pet bird. It was a handsome white parakeet in a somewhat rusted cage that I really wondered how I hadn't seen before. Looking more closely at Chad, I also noticed that he had a few bandages peeking into visibility. I must have been really out of it not to notice that; I usually have this habit of checking my big friend over for injury, but I guess his whole "protect the girl" act put me off more than I thought.

"What's with the bandages?" I asked, concern and a lighter scolding tone leaking into my voice. I didn't quite approve of how often he put himself into situations where he would most likely get hurt.

"A steel beam fell on me last night, and a motorcycle ran into me this morning," he explained simply. I shook my head in fond exasperation; this teen was made of something else. Only Chad could make injuries that could put grown men in a hospital seem minor.

"Take better care of yourself," I reprimanded him firmly, whacking his arm.

Chad shook his head. "I was protecting him," he said, pointing to the caged bird. Alarm bells went off in my head. If this bird was the cause of these accidents... I remembered the parakeet's introduction for a moment. The bird had seemed entirely too smart with completely fluent and put-together sentences. It also felt strange, like it was some kind of spirit (I was better at differentiating the living from the not since Rukia had made me learn). Yuichi could be a cursed spirit... I would have to ask Rukia what she thought later. I didn't know if spirits could inhabit animals.

"Then don't let him get into those kinds of situations," I berated Chad nonetheless. He needed to get it through his thick skull that he wasn't impervious to harm before he really got hurt.

Suddenly Keigo burst into dramatic tears, nearly making me jump. "What the heck?!" I shouted at him. He jumped at me for the second time that lunch period and I dodged again, leaning away from Chad this time and thus into Rukia. I didn't bother apologizing, figuring I wouldn't need to.

"Ichigo cares more for Sado-kun!" the 'distraught' boy cried.

I blinked. I tried to process what he had said. I blinked again. Everyone else seemed to think this mildly amusing. "...What?" I finally questioned in confusion. I honestly had no idea where Keigo's abrupt conclusion had come from or what it meant. I looked around, asking with my eyes what the brown-haired teen was getting at. Orihime was smiling happily - meaning she was probably in on it - but she didn't say anything. Tatsuki was snickering quietly behind a hand at me, Keigo, Chad, or a combination of the three, but she didn't say anything either. Mizuiro was smiling much like Orihime. Rukia wasn't even bothering to hide her laughter - why did it seem like she was always laughing at me for something or another? - and was definitely not going to answer. I turned helplessly to Chad, looking for a sign that he knew and would tell me. He only shrugged at my questioning look, leaving me only one choice. I stood and socked Keigo in the face, sending him flying. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?!" I yelled threateningly at him. He couldn't answer because I had inadvertently knocked him out. "Dang it!" I cursed and stomped off childishly.

More laughter sounded behind me and I moodily ignored them. It had been a simple question! _Honestly,_ I mentally huffed. Seeing as how the roof was already occupied by _idiots_, I wandered down to the school's courtyard, plopping down under a nice tree. I had cooled off somewhat by the time the bell ending lunch rang, but still not enough to speak to my friends, so I spent the rest of the school day ignoring them. I almost forgave Chad, because he hadn't meant any harm - he hadn't understood either - but then I remembered how he was treating me when he asked me if I was okay - something he had never before made a habit of doing; we spoke through expressions and micro-gestures. Then I was irritated with him again so I ignored him too.

After school I talked to Rukia minimally - she had been the worst offender, but I was starting to get used to her annoying mannerisms - so that she could teach some more Soul Reaper stuff while I fought a Hollow. Apparently she figured I learned best on the go, so she would teach me that stuff during fights more often then not. Right now I was reluctantly talking a bit more in depth with her about Chad's new pet bird.

"It felt like a spirit," I commented simply, keeping my word count as low as possible. I was still a little bit mad, and the only way I knew how to get back at her at this point in time was either call her "midget" - which would essentially be worth it but would also earn pain - or ignore her - which resulted in much less hurt. "Is that possible?" I asked for confirmation on my thoughts.

Rukia put her chin in her left hand, the other resting on her left elbow, as she considered it. "It is not usual," she said slowly, "but it is possible..."

"Do ya think it's cursed?" I may not have been overly pleased with Chad at the moment, but I wasn't about to leave him alone with a cursed bird. I still remembered our promise to help each other if the other needed help. A cursed parakeet definitely fell under the promise.

"Cursed?" Rukia shook her head in the negative, her black hair shaking a little as well. "A Plus can't be cursed like a human can be." She obviously had an idea about it, but she didn't say anything else. I mentally sighed, wishing she would be more forthcoming when the situation called for it.

"So what else could it be?" I demanded impatiently.

The short Shinigami's eyes flickered up to me as we walked along the path to my home before returning to directly ahead. "A Hollow," she answered tightly.

Oh. That would be bad. "Um," I started anxiously. "Wouldn't the Hollow thingie go off, then?" A ball of dread was starting to form in my stomach. A familiar beeping noise sounded. The dread clenched like an iron fist. Worry filled my being. There was practically no doubt that Chad would be involved with this.

"Let's go," Rukia voiced, though she didn't need to. I would have gone no matter what at the moment.

She led the way, but that position was a near thing as I pressed up as close to being in front as I could while being able to follow Rukia. Only my excellent self-control kept me from out-right panicking.

By the time we reached the supposed location of the Hollow, it was already gone. There was, however, a rather large crash site. Ambulance sirens went off in the near distance, jerking me from my empty stare at the scene. Thankful that Rukia hadn't pushed me out of my body yet, I rushed over to help in any way I could. Having a father that owns a clinic is useful in these situations; it gave me experience and a certain amount of credibility during events like this. The ambulance's drew ever closer.

Miraculously enough - the crash had been _huge_; there should have been _tons_ of injuries and even deaths - no one had died and only one person had been wounded. That person had been in the very center of the chaos. Guess who it was. Go on, guess. It had been Chad! I _told_ him to be careful. Why couldn't he just have a _little_ bit of self-preservation mixed in with all of that 'save people' stuff?

I sighed worriedly. With as many injuries as Chad managed to accumulate - he apparently decided to try and protect all of the drivers by slowing the cars down with his hands as much as he could - he would have to stay overnight wherever he was put. Considering that a Hollow had it in for Chad's birdie - which he probably already knew and would therefore hold on to the cage and bird - staying at Karakura Hospital was out of the question. When the ambulance arrived I instructed the driver to head towards Kurosaki Clinic, sitting in the back with Chad and Rukia. I also pulled out my cell phone and informed my dad of the incoming patient and his injuries. Thus it was that Chad was taken to a pre-prepared room when the ambulance arrived.

Rukia made me come up with a strategic plan while we waited for Chad to wake up, though now that he was under a few pain relief pills that was less likely to be happening anytime soon. But what exactly counts as a "strategic plan" where one Hollow or more were specifically targeting a soul? The most obvious course of action I saw was to just stay with Chad the whole time, or convince him to let me hang on to the bird for a while. Of course, Rukia and I didn't see eye to eye - haha, literally and figuratively - on what to do. She still thought I needed the practice though, so she was probably just going to keep me at it until I came up with a plan relatively mirroring the one she definitely already had. I wish she wouldn't be so difficult.

"Welllllllllll..." I started yet again, trying to trick my brain into coming up with a different plan. "Ummmmmm... Nope, I still can't think of anything else that would be even slightly possible." Well, the midget couldn't blame me, it's not like I knew the inner workings of Hollows. They may have been people once, but it was pretty clear there was a different thought process going on there. Kind of like... a different culture... I guess.

"Try again," Rukia refused my excuse.

"I got nothin'," I groused. I squinted my eyes and stuck my tongue out at her childishly, slouching over my legs, elbows on my knees and chin in my hands. We were both sitting on the white-sheeted beds opposite of each other in the clinic, waiting not-so-patiently for Chad to wake up so we could talk to him - not to actually tell him what was going on, of course, because Rukia maintained that we could not bring normal humans into the... Shinigami world, I guess. No, we were just going to come straight in and ask for his bird that he would not give, knowing him. Chad was protective by nature, which was one of the reasons I wasn't holding an eternal grudge against him for seeing me as a little girl to protect (just because he was taller than me didn't mean I was little! he was taller than everyone!). But back to the main topic.

Rukia shook her head, giving a pointed glare that I returned sullenly. "Again," she commanded.

I was about to make another impossible "maybe we could" plan when someone interrupted by entering the long room. I was extremely grateful to this person, but I wondered if a worse fate was in store and this was my dad as I turned to look. My thanks rose when it turned out to be Karin.

"Hey," she said casually in greeting. Her gaze flickered along the length of the room, and then a barely noticeable frown of confusion made its way onto her face. "Where's your friend?" Karin asked, not knowing the impact that question would hold.

The ball of dread came roaring back with a vengeance. I jumped off the bed I had been on, checking each mattress individually while an uncomfortable semi-panic grew. Karin had been right; Chad was nowhere to be seen. And there was a very familiar beeping sound filling the room.

(A/N: I almost ended it right there, just to make it a cliffy. Luckily - or unluckily - I didn't)

"Shoot," I cursed under my breath. For the second time in one day, I absolutely knew that Chad was mixed up in this. "Karin, tell Goat-face I'm fetching a wayward patient," I barked. "Rukia, let's go."

Karin nodded seriously and went off to find our dad, then Rukia hopped out a window with me following close behind. The run paused only for a moment so the short Soul Reaper could push my soul out of my body, and then it resumed once more. This time, though, it seemed to drag on and on, like we would never get to where the Hollow was supposed to be. Perhaps it was because I knew it was my friend that was being attacked due to his protective tendencies. Maybe it was because I felt that this was my fault - I had been there in the room when he snuck out.

The scene we arrived to did not in any way, shape, or form make me feel better. My tall, curly-haired friend was blindly fight against a Hollow that was a few feet taller than him while crouched much like an ape. It was a green-tinted blue, with a widely grinning mask and a long tongue lolling out from between the pointed teeth. The large creature could possibly be called a frog as well as an ape, with that hanging tongue. Worse than Chad's inability to see the creature he was fighting were the miniature frogs launched by the Hollow that exploded upon impact. Chad could take a punch, even one from a Hollow. A close-range explosion, however, I wasn't so sure about. Yuichi the parakeet was flapping about in his little cage, obviously distressed.

"Chad!" I yelled. He looked my direction, but it was clear he couldn't see me. I sighed in what might've been fond exasperation if this had not literally been a life-or-death situation; Chad had been fighting the Hollow on sound alone, it seemed. It was just like him to try and fight the thing under such discouraging odds. "Get out of the way!"

His eyes turned to Rukia, who had a... real body - or something? I never really asked how she could be seen - and thus was visible to him. "Kuchiki-san," he said in what was the closest to shouting I had ever heard from him. "Is Ichigo nearby? Can you tell him I'm fine?" If I had the time, I would have face-palmed.

"Idiot!" I shouted in frustration, running towards him and simultaneously drawing my sword. "You can't even see it!" _And good to know you still consider me a guy_, I added mentally in a sarcastic tone.

"Ichigo?" he questioned in confusion.

"I said _move_!"

I held my blade out diagonally, pointing downward, and sped up, coming behind the Hollow. It started to turn, but its movements were slow; on the other side I saw Chad finally adhere to my words and scramble away in his stoic fashion. I turned my hands so the sharp edge of my over-sized sword faced outwards, and I slashed upwards across the Hollow's broad back. I used the momentum to my advantage by twirling in midair and swinging the blade down against the Hollow's head with the added force of gravity. A crack resounded around the back street this was all happening on as the Hollow's grinning mask split. Then something unexpected happened.

The setting sun's light seemed to drain away in one particularly large spot. A set of doors started to take shape in the darkness, filling into be a crimson red. Two skeletons slowly appeared overtop the doors, both on the edge of their respective doors, facing inward. The bony hands stretched forth to grab the now-formed golden handles and pulled their respective doors open - even though that should have been impossible from a logical standpoint. But when one becomes a Shinigami, one stops being logical. A horrible keening sound filled the air, and it took me a second to realize it was actually coming from within the opening doors. The noise was like a Hollow's scream one hundredfold. In my peripheral vision I watched Chad whip his head about, searching for the source he wouldn't be able to find. Rukia was looking on calmly, her face completely emotionless, leading me to take comfort in that whatever was happening, it wasn't bad enough for Rukia to be worried. I still felt the nervous butterflies flutter their wings, though.

The Hollow added its own keen, not showing any sign of "dissolving" like defeated Hollows had so far always done. I watched in quiet, mounting horror as the frog-like Hollow was brought into the air directly in front of the opening doors. Inside, from within the burning depths that were visible, a giant blade shot out and stabbed the Hollow. The protruding blade was drawn back in, pulling the Hollow along, and the doors slammed shut before dissipating into the same black aura they emerged from. Slowly but surely the sun's light returned to the space, until it was no different from before.

"Rukia," my voice came out as a whisper. I cleared my throat. "Rukia," I started again, "what was that?" I didn't turn away from where the doors had been to check her reaction.

"The doors to Hell," she explained emotionlessly. "When a Hollow committed great sins during its mortal life, it gets sent to Hell upon being cleansed." It was simple. It made sense. It was somehow terrifying.

I shook my head, trying to shake off the lingering sense of horror as well. I turned to look at Chad, who was giving Rukia his equivalent of a mildly doubting expression. Rukia steadily returned his gaze for a moment before reverting to her glaringly fake persona she had taken up at school. It was... hideously cheerful, in my opinion. Not that I have anything against being cheerful, but a bubbly, excited Rukia... It's not pretty if you don't wholly agree/play along with her. Me being me, I don't. Not pretty.

Anyways, I decided to go put on my body - and doesn't that sound nice *shiver* - after performing a Konso on the parakeet while Rukia kept Chad busy. It took me a little longer than planned to find it, but otherwise I was back fairly quickly to rescue Chad. No one deserved to put up with cheerful Rukia for that long. I waved as I called out to him: "Chad!"

"Ichigo," he returned with a hint of relief.

_Aw, was big ol' Chad worried 'bout wittle Ichigo? _my own personal nasty voice bit out in my head.

_Go away, _I mentally shooed. I had decided to forgive Chad for that already. Out loud, I started shouting at him for what I was still mad about. "You freaking idiot!" I roared. "Were you trying to get yourself killed?! You couldn't even see the thing, and you don't move when I, someone who _can_ see it tells you to '_move_?'" My hands came up and started waving about to further express my anger. Chad actually took a step back, which would have been amusing if this wasn't a legitimate concern. "Chad," I said a little softer. "You used to trust me when I told you to dodge. Has my appearance changed that level of trust and respect between us?" I could see that my words sank in, so I waited quietly for an answer while looking directly into his eyes to see whether he spoke truth or not.

"You are right," he admitted after a moment. "I did let your appearance change the way I thought of you," he continued bluntly. "I am sorry, Ichigo." He didn't ask for forgiveness or anything; he wasn't the type, just as I wasn't the type to ever forgive anyone aloud. "I will try harder" was his comment instead.

"You better," I warned half-heartedly, smiling. His commitment to try was enough for me.

I had forgotten about Rukia until she decided to burst in at that moment. "Oh my gosh!" she practically squealed. "You two make such a cute couple!" she positively gushed.

A little color drained from my face and my smile faded as I tried to figure out where her comment came from. And much like with Keigo at lunch, I couldn't figure it out. "...What?" I asked in confusion for the second time that day. Rukia was too busy gushing about a perfect couple to answer. Chad had turned around after muttering that he was going home and picking up his now-normal bird.

"Will anyone ever answer me?" I grumbled darkly.

**({[\|-~•~-|/]})**

**_Boom! So... sorry for being late guys... I wish I had a legitimate excuse, but I kinda don't, I was just really lazy. Also, apologies for that really crappy, paragraph-length fighting scene. I suck at those because I don't really know what any moves are called and then I get lazy and don't want to describe everything in major detail._**

**_So, today was my first day of school! I am a Sophomore now and that makes me happy, but man... Freshman have excuses for sucking at everything. I got lost right after the morning pep rally because I forgot we were coming from the gym and not the front of the school :( On that note, I will not be in Marching Band this year due to a medical reason that made my mom say "take a break." So I will have more free time then last year! Although there will be more homework... Oh well, thought I should give that semi-happy news (I absolutely hate not being in MB :( ) But whatever. On to KIFR!_**

**Kurosaki Ichigo's Feelings Report (KIFR)**

**Girls:** I don't like people in general right now.

**Boys:** Same thing as just before. Also, really? Don't think I'll give that easily.

**Yasutora "Chad" Sado:** I'm not sure how I feel about his name coming up... Chad is my friend but changing into a girl changed some stuff between us that I hope we can get back to normal. And... Chad? Me and him? Romance? Ewww... I sure hope he's not gonna act like Keigo towards me anytime soon. That would be really awkward...

**_Eheh... Comment and Vote? Stay tuned for more whenever I next get around to updating? Eh, at least it was a long chapter. I don't know why, but my muse likes long chapters for this fanfic. Most others I make are closer to 3k, while this is the second 5k chapter I've made. Huh. Enjoy the school year!_**

**_(I'll edit this later...)_**


End file.
